Assessing physical activity in people with mental illness: 23-country reliability and validity of the simple physical activity questionnaire (SIMPAQ)

Abstract

Background: Physical inactivity is a key contributor to the global burden of disease and disproportionately impacts the wellbeing of people experiencing mental illness. Increases in physical activity are associated with improvements in symptoms of mental illness and reduction in cardiometabolic risk. Reliable and valid clinical tools that assess physical activity would improve evaluation of intervention studies that aim to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour in people living with mental illness. Methods: The five-item Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire (SIMPAQ) was developed by a multidisciplinary, international working group as a clinical tool to assess physical activity and sedentary behaviour in people living with mental illness. Patients with a DSM or ICD mental illness diagnoses were recruited and completed the SIMPAQ on two occasions, one week apart. Participants wore an Actigraph accelerometer and completed brief cognitive and clinical assessments. Results: Evidence of SIMPAQ validity was assessed against accelerometer-derived measures of physical activity. Data were obtained from 1010 participants. The SIMPAQ had good test-retest reliability. Correlations for moderatevigorous physical activity was comparable to studies conducted in general population samples. Evidence of validity for the sedentary behaviour item was poor. An alternative method to calculate sedentary behaviour had stronger evidence of validity. This alternative method is recommended for use in future studies employing the SIMPAQ. Conclusions: The SIMPAQ is a brief measure of physical activity and sedentary behaviour that can be reliably and validly administered by health professionals.

A Mental Health–Informed Physical Activity Intervention for First Responders and Their Partners Delivered Using Facebook: Mixed Methods Pilot Study

“…Physical activity levels were assessed subjectively using the Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire (SIMPAQ). The SIMPAQ is a 5-item clinical tool designed to assess physical activity among populations at high risk of sedentary behavior, with demonstrated validity and reliability among people with mental illness [ 51 ]. For the purpose of this study, the SIMPAQ was adapted to a web-based version using MetricWire.…”

Test-retest reliability and correlates of the Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire in Ugandan out-patients with psychosis

“…The Spearman rho correlation coefficient between the SIMPAQ moderate-vigorous physical activity and an objective assessment with an accelerometer was 0.25 for participants with available data (n=617, p<0.001) in the international SIMPAQ study 23 .…”

“…The current data show that all variables showed excellent reliability with Spearman Rho correlates ranging from 0.78 for structured exercise to 0.96 for walking. For comparison purposes with other self-report physical activity assessments, reliability correlations in the physical activity literature range from 0.34 to 0.89 22 while the only international study to date on the SIMPAQ including 1,010 participants with mental illness from 23 countries showed that test-retest correlations tanged from 0.63 for time spent in incidental activity (p<0.001) to 0.76 for time spent exercising and similarly for time spent walking (both p<0.001), indicating acceptable to good reliability 23 . Given this comparability, researchers and clinical practitioners should consider the SIMPAQ suitable as a reliable surveillance tool to assess levels of physical activity and sedentary behavior among out-patients with psychosis in low-resourced settings.…”

Improving Depressive Symptoms through Personalised Exercise and Activation (IDEA): Study Protocol for a Randomised Controlled Trial

“… Motivation for exercise using the Spanish validation of the Exercise Motivations Inventory (EMI-2) [ 19 , 20 ]. To identify their physical needs and capabilities, we will measure: Current physical activity using the Simple Physical Activity Questionnaire (SIMPAQ) [ 21 ]. Functional exercise capacity using the 6 min walking test (6MWT) [ 22 ].…”